I’m a high school senior and I’m deciding between applying to CMC and Pomona (our school limits how many schools we can apply to so I only have space for one of the two). I’ve read some other forums but would love to get some advice regarding my situation.
I’m interested in studying Psychology or Int’l Relations/Political Science. I’m pretty extroverted so I like the party scene but I also like having time alone to relax. I’m socially liberal (far left!) and economically liberal as well (but closer to the center). I like the old historic building look but it’s not necessary by any means (I wouldn’t choose Pomona over CMC just for the buildings).
My grades are pretty good but not good enough that I’m even remotely sure that I can get into either school — will probably apply to these for EA or ED2. I heard it’s easier to get into CMC in general especially for girls since a lot of girls apply to Pomona… is this true?
@js1111, I agree with Publisher that if you are undecided, Pomona is likely the better choice. Pomona slants more liberal, but there is room at CMC for a wide range of political beliefs. However, both colleges are extremely selective. I’ve known 4 valedictorians with excellent extracurriculars and 1500+ SAT scores who were denied by Pomona. Both colleges have a relatively small freshman class, so “fit” is incredibly important. Wishing you the best with your choices.
CMC alum here who majored at Pomona. CMC definitely a better fit for your interests and majors. Poly sci/IR at CMC are amazing. The architecture isn’t great, but it’s generally just beautiful there. I spent lots of time enjoying the architecture at the other campuses. Vibe is more important than architecture. Both schools are really very hard to get into. What are your stats? Do you have a hook?
Totally agree with the vibe thing, and it’s a very individual thing. My kid was recruited by both schools and knew Pomona was right and CMC was wrong within about 15 minutes of her stepping on each of the campuses, but we know another woman recruit who felt exactly the opposite (both loved their experiences). Even though women applicants now outnumber men at both schools, the difference is much higher at Pomona, where the admit rate for women is about 6 percent, with CMC’s admit rate for women around 10 percent. Which, as @whidbeyite2002 notes, kinda puts both of them in “lottery” territory - and yeah, we know 2 valedictorians who didn’t get into Pomona.
Glad I stumbled upon this as it answers a lot of questions I have had, or I should say my daughter has had, about the consortium. @Earthmama68 interested to learn more about attending one school and majoring at another. What was it like to make that happen, and is it common?
It’s not very common, but it’s not rare either. What happened in my case is I took a geology class at Pomona to fulfill a CMC science distribution requirement and ended up loving it so much that I changed my major to geology. It’s very easy to major at the other colleges if they’re offering something your college doesn’t have. I had so many academic interests, I had a hard time choosing a major.
OP was a senior in August 2020 and never posted again after the initial post. So new questions might be better addressed in a new thread. I do know that Pomona does not permit off campus majors.
